


Contenders

by AceR00k



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 19:20:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14142825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceR00k/pseuds/AceR00k
Summary: A little friendly competition never killed anyone, she reminded herself, blood trickling down her mouth. Though certainly not for lack of trying.A joint operatives mission between a young Alliance hot shot and a prickly turian goes (stunningly) south fast. AU





	1. Initiation

There were a lot of words to describe Alice Shepard. Humble was certainly the least of them.

Academy had come like second nature to her; she was born and bred on spaceships, and she felt more at ease in an engine room than most. There was no Shepard who hadn't served; her family tree spoke to a pedigree of first class soldiers, littered with medals and honors from the highest courts, long before the word "turian" was ever spoken. Joining the Alliance had not been a choice - it had been a rite of passage, one she excitedly pursued under the watchful (and proud) eyes of her parents.

That's not to say that she didn't draw the wrong kind of attention from her peers - there were plenty of people who resented her easy success, and she heard the whispered allegations of nepotism and the sly glances thrown her way. But it was easy to dismiss them - she was, after all, top of her class in Academy and on the fast track to the same kind of illustrious career that was fated for a Shepard.

It was hardly a surprise when she was told by her commanding officer that she was assigned to her first post. The surprise was where the Alliance expected to send her.

****

There was an awkward silence in the mess hall when she told them.

They had come down to visit her, wanting to discuss her post face to face rather than through the comms. Her parents had always been good about making face time and finding a few days in between tours of duty to visit - her father doted on her and bought snacks while her slightly more grizzled mother grumbled that he was spoiling her. This visit was one she had dreaded, unsure how they would take the news.

"A mixed crew?" her father said, slightly uneasy. Her parents exchanged a glance; she had known them long enough to know that it was not a good sign.

"Not sure how much I like my daughter being a guinea pig for some diplomatic trial," her mother said, a frown coloring the corners of her mouth.

"It could be a good learning experience," her father volunteered, false optimism in his voice. He was always one for staying on the positive side, and Alice felt inclined to agree with him.

"Not like I can turn it down anyways," she said gently, hoping that the look of disapproval on her mother's face would slide off. "I'll be fine."

That was the Shepard family motto: I'll be fine. I'm good. Don't worry about it. They were words that she had repeated to herself during the more grueling training sessions, as if the false assurance would manifest into actual ability. And for the most part, it worked. But even when her parents left, all the false assurances in the world wouldn't have stopped her stomach from twisting into knots.

****

"A mixed crew?" the voice over the comms was garbled, but Garrus could hear the suspicion in the subharmonics.

His father would never voice an overt disagreement with the orders Garrus had been given; no, that might be insubordinate. As if the turian hierarchy and its military could make a mistake.

That had been something his father had ingrained in him with moderate success: that trust in the hierarchy was the only thing separating them from lawless savages. There had been turians who lived outside the rules; the slavers and raiders, the ones who had lost the right to wear their face marks.

Listening to his father now, Garrus was slightly worried he might have more in common with them than he'd like to think. Searching for the right words, he began, "Do you think it's a mistake?"

"No," his father said. No hesitation; his voice sounded sure. "No, there's a reason why they're placing you there. Son, take it as an opportunity - learn what you can, but remember why you're there."

Garrus said little - a technique he had perfected after years of attempting conversation with his father, but once he exited the comm he felt something like unease.

He had a clear expectation for his future - finish training, complete mandatory military service, get stationed on the Citadel and become a detective. Now, there was suddenly another possibility before him: there had been talk, rumors through the grapevine that he might be considered as a candidate for Specter training.

Was this strange assignment - an interspecies mission to the heart of slaver territory - a test? Or were the rumors just idle whispers?

Was he a fool to feel a flutter of excitement?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am currently replaying Mass Effect and this story idea lodged itself in my brain, so I just had to write it down!
> 
> Not sure how active the fandom is for the OT here, but I'll always have a soft spot for some FemShep/Garrus.


	2. The Plan

There were whispers amongst the recruits that the aliens could pick up your thoughts through their carapaces, or that their tongues could taste pheromones in the air.

Alice laughed whenever she heard a colony kid, or an Earther speaking in hushed tones about what the turians could do. She'd seen turians before, and her father had assured her they were far from supernatural.

"They're more like cockroaches than monsters" were his exact words. He was old enough to remember the war against them, and with that age came a certain kind of talk that was no longer encouraged at Academy. The officers talked about diplomacy and an integrated approached to interspecies interactions, but they couldn't control everything the recruits said, and often turned a blind eye to the more colorful descriptions that Alice heard on a day to day basis.

"Glad I'm not working a turian detail for my first tour."

Shepard found it hard not to take the comments to heart, but since it had gotten out that she'd be working in a mixed crew she'd heard more of the same. She told herself that it could be worse, she could be doing glorified guard duty on some far-flung colony in the ass-end of nowhere, until she reminded herself that she'd heard no details and knew no one else with her assignment.

With no information, her mind churned out worst case scenarios. She tossed and turned at night, sleep flitting away away from her in her bed. What if this was some sort of wild Alliance social experiment? What if it was some boring diplomatic job, guarding some turian politician she didn't give a rat's ass about? Even worse, what if this derailed her Plan?

Like her parents, Shepard had a plan in place for advancing to the coveted N7 rank, a path that had been meticulously calculated and plotted across the course of the next few years. Establish herself in her unit, take on leadership positions, join the ICT, and network exhaustively with senior command. She'd train like hell, push herself past her limits and well past whenever the other recruits would call it a day.

Even if this mission proved to be a bust, she would consider it a minor detour on her way to complete her Plan. She grit her teeth and strengthened her resolve, listening to the snores of the other recruits in her bunk. She was a Shepard, and no job - turian or no - would ever come between her and what she wanted.

****

There was buzz in the air, Garrus thought to himself. And everyone's on edge.

Of course, none of the turians in the room would show it. The humans would be blind to the cues that Garrus could see so clearly - the sharp edge in his CO's subvocals, the quicker-than-usual pace of the less seasoned officers. Their nerves were masked by the usual turian facade - emotionless and detached, facial expressions betraying nothing.

The humans, however, were another story.

He counted six, one senior officer evidenced by his age, and four recruits who stood too close to each other to be strangers. There was one outlier, standing far from the others.

Their senior officer, David Anderson, was smooth - probably experienced with working with turians, or else very capable at masking nerves. The other four recruits were very obviously anxious, crossing their arms and tapping their feet. With slight alarm, Garrus spotted what looked to be biotic amps on at least two of them. _Great,_ he thought to himself. There were no biotic turians on the ship, and he didn't like thinking the humans might have an edge on them.

Of course, he had no reason to believe they'd be anything less than polite. Like most turians, he considered humans in general to be harmless curiosities, another strange alien in a galaxy full of strange aliens. There were some older turians that held resentments from the contact war, but holding grudges were impractical, and not encouraged. Humans were too young to outsmart them, too soft to be a threat.

Most humans were harmless - except, it seemed, for the one girl who stood alone. She was openly glaring at the crew - his shipmates. He studied her with curious eyes - she was the smallest of the pack, most likely not a biotic. She didn't know the others well - while the biotics occasionally threw furtive glances at each other, she kept her gaze fixed on the turians. She looked like a cornered animal, narrowing her eyes and looking for a way out.

His talon twitched, almost instinctively, for his weapon. At the same moment, her eyes found his, neither willing to look away. She seemed to be daring him to grasp for his weapon, and he could see her hand moving towards her side piece. _If she wants to play a game of who can draw first, she'll be sorely disappointed. At least, before she's dead._

But before either of them could make a move, the senior officer called out, "Shepard! Get a move on."

Garrus relaxes long enough to watch the girl disappear into the crew quarters sullenly. Before she leaves, she throws a look back at him.

 _Yes,_ he thinks to himself, meeting her angry gaze.  _I'll be sure to keep an eye out for that one._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm a little late with this, hope to get into a more regular cadence for writing!


End file.
